The journey to Thandor was significantly faster than most of the trips Darion had made since arriving in this world.
Part of that was because they weren’t dragging knights on foot behind them or moving together with animals or using weak horses.
It was just Darion, Garren, three knights and fast horses chosen personally by Wulfric.
The undead wild wolf also played a part, the original one Darion had revived when they went to hunt the Bogarts.
The massive creature moved through the wilderness beside them like sothing unnatural born from the darker parts of the world itself. Even after using it several tis already, Darion still felt proud of what it could do.
Its body was huge enough to make normal wolves look small beside it. Blackened fur covered its form in rough patches while its glowing eyes scanned the forest constantly during the ride.
The first part of the journey followed a route Garren described as "less safe but much faster."
Apparently most rchants avoided it because creatures wandered through the region often enough to make travel dangerous unless you moved in larger groups.
Darion understood why quickly.
About an hour into the ride, movent suddenly erupted from the trees ahead.
Three large beast-like creatures erged from the brush.
Darion didn’t even know what they were called.
They looked vaguely similar to oversized hyenas, except uglier and far more aggressive-looking, with dark coarse fur and jaws that looked strong enough to bite through bone.
The horses reacted imdiately.
One of the knights cursed while grabbing for his weapon.
But before anybody could even properly react, the undead wolf stepped forward.
The effect was imdiate. The creatures froze. They weren’t looking cautious or aggressive but actually terrified.
Darion watched one of them physically recoil backward after seeing the wolf clearly.
Then all three turned and ran straight back into the forest without hesitation.
The undead wolf simply stared after them silently.
One of the knights slowly lowered his sword, full of relief.
Darion realized the creature didn’t even need to fight most of the ti. Its existence alone seed enough to terrify weaker monsters.
Which made sense. To living creatures, the undead wolf probably looked like a nightmare walking around freely in daylight.
They continued moving afterward without further problems.
A few more tis during the journey, Darion noticed movent deeper in the trees. Eyes watching from shadows. Shapes moving between branches.
But none of them approached.
The wolf solved that problem on its own simply by existing nearby.
Without summoning the wolf beforehand, he would have been dismounting a ton of tis or summoning the wolf imdiately after they were really close to being attacked, or worse, after the attack had already begun on them.
Creatures in this world were good lurkers. They didn’t announce themselves until they were already close. By the ti you saw them, they were usually already moving. Having the wolf out and visible from the start changed that equation entirely. The creatures saw the wolf before they saw the riders, and that single glance was enough to send most of them running the other way.
Eventually, the roads began changing.
The dangerous forest paths slowly transitioned into wider routes with visible signs of regular travel. Wagon tracks marked the dirt. Travelers occasionally appeared in the distance.
At that point, Darion decided it was ti.
He unsummoned the undead wolf.
The massive creature dissolved gradually into dark particles before disappearing completely.
One of the horses imdiately seed less tense afterward.
"People tend to react badly to undead monsters on public roads," Darion joked and everyone laughed at that.
"Understandably," Garren replied.
Their pace slowed afterward too.
Even good horses had limits.
Wulfric had selected excellent mounts for them, healthy, fast and well-trained, but forcing them to continue at full speed for the entire journey would’ve exhausted them badly.
So they settled into a steadier pace.
The roads beca busier the closer they got to Thandor. Now filled with rchants, travelers, supply wagons and small groups of guards escorting goods.
Darion quietly observed everything while they rode.
There was one thing Darion always noticed whenever they traveled and it was that the roads were significantly better maintained than Percvale’s.
Even the surrounding villages looked more stable than most places near Percvale. Houses had fewer signs of abandonnt. Farms looked active. Roads actually connected properly instead of turning into half-broken paths after a certain distance.
Darion looked around carefully while riding forward.
Eventually they arrived at Thandor.
Unlike Percvale and other smaller territories, Thandor didn’t have massive outer walls surrounding everything.
That wasn’t surprising. This wasn’t a small vulnerable Barony constantly worrying about raids from nearby enemies.
This was a kingdom. A large one too. Not massive by Earth’s standards of course. It wasn’t like an entire modern state or country.
But compared to Percvale? It was enormous.
The settlents stretched far wider than anything Darion had seen since arriving in this world.
And unlike Percvale, the place actually felt populated properly.
People everywhere. Markets. Shops. Workers moving goods. Children running through streets. Horses pulling loaded wagons.
Nobody paid their group too much attention initially as they entered.
So people glanced at them while passing.
Mostly curious looks. The sort of looks people gave strangers naturally.
’Who are these people?’
’rchants maybe?’
’Minor nobles?’
’Travelers?’
Darion kept his expression calm while riding beside Garren.
The knights behind them stayed disciplined and quiet too. Nobody spoke unnecessarily.
Garren led the group from the front since he was the only one who knew the city properly.
The ride through Thandor itself took far longer than Darion expected.
The kingdom was large, but Alddor City especially was bigger than Percvale.
Apparently this was where the king himself resided permanently. That alone explained a lot.
Buildings were larger. The roads improved further too, now having stone roads.
Darion noticed several large buildings that looked wealthier than anything inside Percvale.
The economic gap between kingdoms and dying Baronies beca painfully obvious the longer he looked around.
Eventually, they approached the gates that would lead into the city. Darion had been expecting a gate, the mont he saw walls. Of course there would be gates.
Guards stood posted at the gates wearing proper armor and carrying spears.
Unlike the earlier sections of the kingdom, entry here was clearly controlled.
As Darion and his group approached, the guards imdiately stepped forward.
"Halt."
The command rang out sharply.
The knights beside Darion subtly straightened.
One of the guards looked over the group carefully.
His eyes lingered slightly on Darion.
Then on Garren.
Then back again.
"State your identities and purpose in Alddor City."
Darion imdiately took control of the conversation before the guards could start making assumptions on their own.
They looked hostile in a way, their faces all stern like they would beat up Darion and his knights ay any minute.
"My na is Darion," he said calmly. "Baron of Percvale."
The guards exchanged glances the mont Percvale left his mouth.
A long glance too. The kind where people communicated entire thoughts silently to each other without needing words.
Darion noticed it instantly.
PERCVALE!
The na alone carried a reputation already, and not a good one.
A failed Barony. A starving territory. A place buried under debts and decline.
Monts like this only reinforced why he wanted to rebuild the place so badly.
Imagine introducing yourself as the ruler of your territory and people reacted like they had just heard the na of so dying village at the edge of civilization.
The guards looked back at him now with visible skepticism.
"What are you looking for here?"
The tone irritated him slightly.
It wasn’t openly disrespectful. But close enough.
There was no: ’Welco to Thandor, Baron.’
No acknowledgnt of rank or courtesy, only suspicion.
The way they said it almost sounded like they were wondering why soone from Percvale had business near the royal district at all.
Like a beggar sohow wandering into a noble banquet.
Behind Darion, Garren remained silent while the Percvale knights simply watched the exchange carefully.
Darion kept his face neutral.
"We are here to see your king."
That caused another round of exchanged looks between the guards. Then one of them laughed. The others followed almost imdiately. Not small laughs either but actual laughter.
"You’ve co to borrow a loan?" one of them asked between chuckles.
Another guard smirked openly now.
Darion understood why that was their first assumption.
A Baron from a dying territory arriving in a wealthy kingdom asking to see the king personally?
It definitely sounded like soone desperate for money. Especially Percvale of all places.
The Barony definitely had a reputation across nearby territories already.
One of:
Debts. Decline. Failed leadership. Near collapse.
That sort of thing spread quickly between kingdoms.
Darion exhaled quietly through his nose. Then he said calmly:
"Actually, I’m here to return a loan your king gave Percvale many years ago."
The laughter stopped imdiately.
The guards stared at him.
For a second none of them spoke.
One of them even blinked like he wasn’t sure he heard correctly.
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